"Advertisement" by Wislawa Szymborska - Commentary.

It is ironic how the author states good reasons to do drugs at the beginning of the poem, but by the end convinces readers that they are harmful by simply including the last three lines. She does this by usage of tone. The overall tone in “Advertisement” is a sarcastic, but ironic one. The sardonic tone helps in showing the irony of the author’s perspective on drugs, being that they are addictive and powerful. The tone used throughout the poem is more powerful than if the author had used a normal, straight-to-the-point tone, because it makes the reader think of the true nature of the poem. By writing, “All you have to do is take me,” by first impression, it seems like quite an easy thing to do, but in reality, Szymborska is trying to show with the ironic tone, that alleviating pain is not that simple, and one must go as far as to give away their sense of morality and principles. Szymborska shows her standpoint on prescription drugs by using a formal tone at the beginning that convinces the readers that the poem is pro-prescription drugs, but the persuasive, serious tone at the end shows the reality of Szymborska’s sharp moral thoughts on drugs. By ending the poem with a blatant tone and saying, “There is no other devil anymore,” Szymborska is showing the malevolence of drugs, by explaining that drugs, among other things, are the epitome of iniquity because of their persuasive and corrupt nature.

        The structure of this literary piece seems to take on a somewhat spiral shape, as it goes from the first stanza being 10 lines, to reducing slowly till the end, where the last stanza consists of a single line. The beginning stanza which includes, “I’m a tranquilizer, I’m effective at home, I work in the office,” shows the list-like structure, which is evident at the start of the poem. The structure seems almost redundant by the end of the last stanza, as the point seems to be clear, which is an explanation as to why prescription drugs are advantageous. However, the last stanza offers some train of thought, as it ends very abruptly, describing the moral evil, of the same drugs that seemed to be described as effective at the start. The spiral shape adds in to the idea of the drugs being personified to explain the power and allure of drugs. The apparent reduction of lines per stanza and the loss of formal diction by the end, gives out the impression of successfully luring someone towards thinking drugs are beneficial. The infectiously mischievous setup of this poem helps the reader in understanding the true nature of the poem, which is trying to explain the attraction and harm of drugs.

        The sly diversions, such as the change in tone, the evident structure of the poem, and the engaging of personification help in understanding Szymborska’s dark view on not only drugs, but on ethical evils in general. The very lucid and sublimely beguiling message of this poem can only be found after realizing the ironic tone at the start is only a means to convince readers that the usage of drugs to assuage pain is simply not worth it. By comprehending that the author is saying that drugs are the easy way around troubles, when she makes alleviating pain so simple by saying “just gulp me with a glass of water,” it can also help in understanding that there have to be drawbacks to everything simple. The drawback that Szymborska is trying to show could be that drugs are eventually addictive and evil. Through understanding personification, the manipulating of tones and the specific structure that the poem takes on, the reader can understand beneath what seems like the inviting surface of drugs and can understand Szymborska’s message that drugs are powerful and influential.